Abhivyakti set to present young artists bursting at the seams with creative ideas

Through its conceptualization and design, Abhivyakti City Arts Project evokes ideas basic to art and its expression. ‘Our world of expression,’ Rabindranath Tagore observes in his essay What is Art? ‘does not coincide with the world of facts.’ The fund of emotional energy man has and remains surplus beyond self-preservation seeks its outlet in the creation of Art. ‘Man’s civilization’, he says, ‘is built upon this surplus.’

Flights of imagination talented young pursers of art, most not overexposed, still exploring their range take, have with their freshness the potential to rekindle among art lovers the mugdhata, the capacity of an innocent surrender for enjoyment to their works, which is a precondition to appreciation of art. Abhivyakti team seems to have with as much relatively informed brainstorming as a painstaking process spread over many weeks selected and guided aspiring artists having creative ideas in theatre, dance, music, written word, sculpture and photography, not to mention a variety of allied arts and skills.

If only thirty out of four times as many proposals are selected for a five-week art festival beginning 19th at Sanskar Kendra, the stress certainly is on quality. Abhivyakti promises to entertain meaningfully. It brings to us a group of young artists bursting at the seams with creative and innovative ideas, taking off from tradition after training and raring to step in tune with the contemporary world and have a dialogue with it on what they do signifies. They take delight in trying to turn kinetic signs and energy, exploratory aural images, shapes and colours, visual images and installations, stories and myths into metaphors.

A few of the presentations at the festival will have direct and a few others a tangential social relevance. The venue is strategically important. Art lovers from the other side of the river as well, if they are so inclined, have an easy access to the festival. One of Abhivyakti’s objectives guiding the initiative is taking art to the masses. Proximity to the venue, relevance of presentations to contemporary society and to life at large can help it in that objective. With a free entry to the festival ensured, even those not initiated into appreciation of art stand to gain from the exposure.

Dance lovers of the city don’t like giving a Vaibhav Arekar performance a miss. He is such a brilliant creative performer with an eye for connotatively rich choreography dripping sheer grace and joy. There could not have been a more significant inaugural performance at the Abhivyakti festival. Sonal Vyas on Day Two is expected to bring in a breath of fresh air with her linking of Gujarati poetry to some of the ashtanayikas she would portray in Bharatanatyam. Close to two decades ago, an accomplished dancer did all the nayikas on Gujarati poems. In the second slot, Vedika’s child actors will transport viewers, young or not, to the world Panchatantra stories create.

Scarce would anyone believe Kalpana Gagdekar is doing abhinaya on Day Three when she is on stage with a few other members of her group. Dhaivat’s medium is sounds, particularly percussion, when he unfolds stories. On 22^nd, Shivangee gives a rare taste of Mallari, a ritualistic pure dance in worship of a deity. Young and imaginative duo Harshal-Kanan will show in their interpretation of Ravana’s ten heads with a flavour of Madhubani on 25^th what being contemporary in art means. Akash treats you the same day to some exhilarating music on a variety of instruments in which he refuses to recognize geographical borders.

That will be the opening week like at Abhivyakti’s art festival this Shishir. With many other surprises in store, it will conclude with a performance by Sanjukta Wagh, whom this city knows as a talented dancer using Kathak for contemporary expression.

For detailed schedule and more information visit here